


Where Have You Been

by Kyuubiluver342



Category: Naruto
Genre: Character Death, Drug Use, Insanity, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 11:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20062945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Naruto was late. he was never late to visit Sasuke. So where the fuck was he?





	Where Have You Been

Sasuke breathed in deeply, the silence all around him almost deafening. He was amazed he wasn’t insane by now, or maybe he was? Maybe he always had been? Who knew anymore. He breathed out. Just breath. Sometimes, it was easier to focus on the simple things, like breathing, than to try and understand the world around him. A peek at the window and he had to hold back a scowl.

“He’s late.” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto was never late, not like this. They had a routine, the same routine they had for almost two years now. Naruto was in training to be the next Hokage while Sasuke wasted away in the dark. Naruto was the only one who came to see him and that was fine with Sasuke. He didn’t need anyone else anyway.

He ignored the ping in his chest, ignored the pain of seeing pink and green flash together, of blue and silver in his mind’s eye. He didn’t need anyone else, not as long as Naruto was by his side.

“He’s late.” Sasuke muttered again.

But Naruto wasn’t by his side. Naruto wasn’t here, even though it was clearly past the time he was supposed to be here. Even though the sun was setting and it was getting close to dinner time, which was usually the time Naruto left for the day and Sasuke was left in the dark, alone, once more. Sasuke shifted and that was irritating. He wanted to call, maybe ask someone where Naruto was, but no one was there. Everyone had left him alone.

Sasuke just focused on his breathing.

The next day, Sasuke opened his eyes to see Naruto sitting outside his cage. For a moment, Sasuke was startled because Naruto seemed...younger than the last time he had seen him (Had it really been two days ago? It seemed like forever.) 

“Where have you been, dobe?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto just smiled and Sasuke scowled.

“That’s not an answer.” Sasuke replied coldly.

Naruto shrugged and Sasuke sighed. When Naruto got like this, it was almost impossible to have a conversation with him. Sasuke just sat back and stared at Naruto, wondering. The staring didn’t seem to bother him one bit and Sasuke, well, he was fine with it if Naruto was.

Sasuke glanced up when the door opened and frowned. Sakura stood there, Ino and Tsunade by her side. His eyes darted to where Naruto had been sitting, but he was gone now. He must have returned to training.

“Sasuke, it’s time for your medication.” Sakura said.

“Medication?” Sasuke frowned.

What did he need that for? And since when did he take shit like that? His eyes darted to Ino, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Sakura stepped into the cage and god she looked so old. The wrinkles around her eyes and the dark bags under her eyes made her look twice as old as she should look. He stared at her, then the tray.

“We’ve been over this. You need it to keep from going blind.” Sakura replied.

It was robotically, as if she had said it a million times before. She probably had. Last he heard, she was the head of the children’s hospital now. The cup had two small, blue pills in it and he didn’t want to take them. Something about this seemed off.

“Did you talk to Naruto about this? What did he say?” Sasuke muttered looking away.

He never saw the way Sakura stiffened, the way Tsunade glared hatefully or the way Ino’s eyes teared up. Sakura swallowed.

“He says it’s for the best. He doesn’t want you to go blind either, you know that.” she replied.

That sounded robotic too, but he felt exhausted all of a sudden. He didn’t want to talk anymore. He opened his mouth and she fed him the pills, watching him swallow them before leaving. As the three climbed the stairs, Sasuke curled on his side and closed his eyes. Right before his world faded away, he heard Ino say.

“I can’t believe he still asks about Naruto.”

The next time he woke up, he was alone still. Not for long however. Naruto appeared just then, smiling brightly and Sasuke smiled back. He could feel the pills running through his veins as Naruto started to talk about his training with Tsunade, the sunlight shining on his skin from the window. As Naruto sat on the floor, he felt his world narrow, until it was only Naruto and he. This was fine. He didn’t need anyone else as long as Naruto was with him.

Sakura sat in her room, eyes on the sky outside. It was storming, as it usually did this time of year. As the rain fell, Sakura caught the reflection of something in her window and turned her head. By her bedside, was two pictures. One was the classic photo of Team Seven, before all their lives had been ripped to pieces by Sasuke’s selfishness. Next to that, a simple picture of Naruto and herself.

As she picked the frame up, she glanced at the headband sitting behind it. The black cloth was old and faded, the metal protector dulled with age. Her eyes watered, as they always did when she looked at it for too long. To think, only seven years ago, Naruto had worn it so proudly on his forehead.

“Teme are you listening to me?” Naruto whined loudly.

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked up. Naruto leaned over him, doing his annoyed foxy face. Sasuke chuckled and tried to lift his hand up, but he felt so weak. Weak and tired. Had he fallen asleep? No wonder the dobe was mad.

“Sorry.” he muttered.

Naruto sat on his bed and that was strange. Naruto didn’t look a day over eleven. Sasuke rubbed his eyes and stared, trying to figure out why this was strange.

“What’s wrong with you?” Naruto asked, looking at him funny.

Sasuke just shook his head. He felt weak, he felt tired, he felt...a lot of things, but right now, he just wanted to feel warm. He grabbed Naruto, ignoring his yell of anger and curled up around him. Naruto was warm, warmer than the sun on his skin, and Sasuke sighed blissfully.

Sakura crushed up the medicine in a small vial and swirled it around. It was instinctual after all these years. She had it down so completely that she could probably do it in her sleep.

“We are going to have to up his dosage again. The guards are saying he’s complaining that Naruto isn’t talking again.” Ino said.

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded.

“I’ll make a note.” she replied.

“Sasuke, it’s time for your medication.” Sakura said, Ino to one side, Tsunade to another.

Sasuke looked at her, eyes blank. She wanted for it, it was almost like a script now.

“Medication?” he muttered, his words slurring.

She nodded.

“You need it to keep from going blind.” she replied.

He eyed her and this his eyes darted to an empty corner of the room, as they always did. As if he were looking for someone. She swallowed.

“Did Naruto agree to this?” he asked and she nodded.

“He says it’s for the best. He doesn’t want you to go blind either, you know that.” Sakura parroted.

Always the same questions, always the same answers. Never defer, never change. This game they had been playing for almost seven years, going on eight. The pills weren’t for his eyes, but for his mind. To keep him under control, to keep him from going on a rampage.

To keep him from remembering that Naruto was dead. Dead and gone, killed by his own hands after the war. Sometimes, Sakura still saw the scene in her head, coming across them in the Valley, Naruto’s body cradled in Sasuke’s arms. Sasuke’s wails of despair. It had taken every ninja they had left to get Naruto’s body away from Sasuke and even then he had struggled and fought, screamed and cursed at them to give Naruto back.

Sakura fed the pills to him, watched as his eyes became duller. As he slumped to the side and muttered something about Naruto would be there soon. Sakura turned on her heel and walked away, ignoring the ping in her heart when she heard Sasuke speak.

“There you are, dobe. What took you so long?” Sasuke said as the door slammed shut behind Sakura’s back.

This was it. Sasuke would be fed these pills until he died. The Uchiha bloodline would die with him. The phantom of his best friend the only person he would ever be allowed to interact with. Sakura no longer wished that there was something she could do for him. Perhaps, this is exactly what he had deserved.

Sasuke stared at Naruto’s smiling face and smiled back, though it was weak.

“You’re tired, teme. Just go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Naruto said sweetly, his fingers running through Sasuke’s hair.

Sasuke’s eyes watered and he reached out for Naruto’s other hand, which he caught.

“You promise?” he asked.

Naruto’s smile grew brighter.

“Of course! That’s my ninja way after all!” Naruto said as Sasuke’s eyes closed and he breathed out one last time.


End file.
